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Son Charged With Reckless Driving

WE are in Oregon, My son was in a car accident over three months ago He spent nearly 60 days in the hospital, 3 of those weeks were in ICU in critical condition.The rest were in accute care and in a rehabilitation unit. After 14 surgeries and alot of pain that may never go away. He came home finally with home health care nurses. And He may never walk again with out the aid of crutches, But shortly after he got home he recieved a letter from the local courts telling him that he had a court date for an arreignment and that he would be appionted a court attorney if he qualified. He found out that he was being charged with this reckless driving when he went to court. He was also given an attorney. HE WAS NEVER TALKED TO BE THE POLICE HE WAS NEVER ISSUED A TICKET. How can this be? The accident was only him, a one car accident. He lost control that much we know, there were witnesses that said that they say him sliding around a corner and they knew he had lost control and was going to crash, they also said that the car was flying and they thought that the car was going to hit them. He does not remember, we are just blessed to have him alive. How can this be that he is being charged with reckless driving? And on his accident report it says that he was cleared by arrest, what does that mean? He was never ticketed and never talked to by an officer, he is being offered a deal: 90 days suspension, 2 years probation and an undisclosed amount in a fine if he pleads guilty. I'm not fully understanding any of this. How can you plead guilty of a ticket that you were never given and why would they be offering probation in an accident, are they saying this accident was criminal? Thank you

Re: Son Charged With Reckless Driving

(1) A person commits the offense of reckless driving if the person recklessly drives a vehicle upon a highway or other premises described in this section in a manner that endangers the safety of persons or property.

(2) The use of the term “recklessly” in this section is as defined in ORS 161.085.

(3) The offense described in this section, reckless driving, is a Class A misdemeanor and is applicable upon any premises open to the public.

It's not unusual for people involved in single vehicle accidents to be ticketed for careless or reckless driving merely because they were unable to control their vehicles and, as a result, caused accidents. Where, in addition to that, witnesses attest that the driver was skidding and sliding around a corner at an excessive speed, lost control, went flying into the air, and then crashed, barely missing nearby pedestrians, it is hard to imagine the police not citing the driver for reckless driving.

"Cleared by arrest" is a reference to how the department closed the case. You would have to ask the department why they use that notation for a file where there is no actual arrest.

Re: Son Charged With Reckless Driving

(1) A person commits the offense of reckless driving if the person recklessly drives a vehicle upon a highway or other premises described in this section in a manner that endangers the safety of persons or property.

(2) The use of the term “recklessly” in this section is as defined in ORS 161.085.

(3) The offense described in this section, reckless driving, is a Class A misdemeanor and is applicable upon any premises open to the public.

It's not unusual for people involved in single vehicle accidents to be ticketed for careless or reckless driving merely because they were unable to control their vehicles and, as a result, caused accidents. Where, in addition to that, witnesses attest that the driver was skidding and sliding around a corner at an excessive speed, lost control, went flying into the air, and then crashed, barely missing nearby pedestrians, it is hard to imagine the police not citing the driver for reckless driving.

"Cleared by arrest" is a reference to how the department closed the case. You would have to ask the department why they use that notation for a file where there is no actual arrest.

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